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St. Thomas More Church

The St. John's University Community welcomes you to St. Thomas More Church, our free standing church on the Queens Campus.

This Church is the center of the Queens Campus and our mission. What happens here nourishes what happens in all the classrooms and campuses, all the labs and playing fields, preparing our students to go forth in love and service.

We come here with gratitude to so many alumni/ae and friends, in particular to John '63C, '66L, '93HON and Anita Brennan, whose extraordinary generosity made St. Thomas More Church possible.

St. Thomas More Church is the spiritual sanctuary of St. John’s University. Named after St. Thomas More (1478-1535), knight, lawyer and author who was appointed Lord Chancellor of England during the 16th century, it is the University’s first freestanding church located on the Queens campus. The church is the embodiment of the spiritual identity of the University and represents peace and refuge for the entire St. John’s community.

Since its move to the Queens campus in 1955, St. John’s University had intended to build a freestanding church that would function as a house of worship on campus, but due to the difficulty of funding such an expensive project, the plan was put on hold. It was through the generous support of St. John’s alumnus John ’63C, ’66L, ’93HON and his wife Anita Brennan, that the University’s dream of its very own church was realized. John and Anita Brennan’s kind and thoughtful donation totaling $10 million, was the catalyst to build a space where “students can embrace their relationship with God” and be called forth to service. The church opened its doors to the University community on September 27, 2004.

The church stands at the heart of the Queens campus, centrally located between the Residence Village and south-eastern corner of the University’s Great Lawn, with its front entrance facing St. John Hall, home to St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The walls of the church are adorned with vibrant hand-crafted mosaics and stained-glass windows imported from Italy that depict scenes of Vincentian history including the founding of St. John’s University.

Also located inside the church is the 9/11 shrine which serves as a space for reflection and prayer for members of the University who have lost family and friends during the events of 9/11.

St. Thomas More Church is open to the public and student and community masses are held weekly. Prayer services and vigils are held inside the church several times throughout the year. The church also serves as a meeting place for religious organizations such as Campus Ministry.